"He went all out from the start, huh?"
Shiki smiled and continued up the mountain path. Of course, she didn't forget to light the Waypoint at the entrance.
The mountain path in Chinju Forest was covered with Otorii Gates. After passing through countless Otorii Gates, Shiki found a small path between two giant rocks.
Perhaps because it was still early, there was no Electro Cicin Mage here like in the game, not even Hilichurls.
Shiki stood at the fork in the road for a while, but finally decided to take the small path.
'Ioroi, huh... I'll go take a look.'
Perhaps because Ioroi was sealed here, the bushes on this small path were much denser than on the mountain path.
After walking for about five minutes, Shiki saw a giant Tanuki statue. The cold moonlight filtered through the treetops, casting light on its plump body. Its face wore a silly, adorable smile, and it held a bowl in its hand, seemingly for drinking sake.
Beside it were three small Tanuki, still in their playful poses when sealed.
Seeing no response, Shiki placed Kujikanesada aside, then reached out and patted Ioroi's chubby belly.
"Big guy, wake up."
"...Hmm!? Who are you? How can you appear before me so silently?"
Ioroi's voice came from the statue, seemingly just woken up, as his voice was still groggy.
"Hello there, big Tanuki. My name is Shiki, an ordinary swordsman who has just embarked on the path of martial arts." Shiki said, sitting down on the platform.
"So why are you here?"
"Ha, nothing much. I found something interesting, so I came to take a look."
Shiki took out a match and lit the candle on the platform, then asked, "Big Tanuki, aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Hmph, listen closely! I am the official personally appointed by the Shogun, the Hidden God Preserver of Life, Ioroi!"
At this, Ioroi's voice suddenly became incredibly proud, like a child showing off his achievements to others.
"So, you, this Hidden-something Preserver... that name is really hard to pronounce. How did you get sealed?" Shiki found this big Tanuki quite amusing.
"How did you know... Never mind, it's nothing I can't talk about, it just takes a bit of time. If you're willing, I'll tell you." Ioroi said.
"Why wouldn't I be willing? Just tell me."
"Then listen closely. This story begins with the competition between me and that white-furred Kitsune Saiguu..."
...In the end, that's what happened. That human junior suddenly became powerful for some unknown reason and sealed me in an instant."
Towards the end, Ioroi even seemed a bit embarrassed. But then again, it made sense; a monster being sealed by a human without any resistance.
"Well, your seal has lasted quite a long time. According to records, you've been sealed for Five hundred years now."
"Five hundred years, huh? Inazuma has long since changed beyond recognition. By the way, do you want to go out and see what Inazuma is like now?" Shiki opened her red and blue interwoven Mystic Eyes and turned to look at Ioroi.
"What do you mean?" Ioroi was stunned at her words, clearly not having processed them.
"Hmm... Was I not clear enough? I can help you break the seal and take you to see the scenery of Inazuma Five hundred years later, but in return, you need to help me with some things during the journey."
"How about it? Is this contract reasonable?"
At this moment, in Shiki's eyes, a golden yellow talisman appeared on Ioroi's body, with a large character "Seal" written on it.
Countless fine threads extended from around the talisman, wrapping around Ioroi's body. There were also threads on the small Tanuki statues, but Ioroi had the most, almost ninety percent of them.
For an Onmyoji, this was an almost unsolvable sealing technique, which could only be lifted naturally after the magical power within it ran dry.
But for Shiki, this was just a piece of paper, a paper so fragile that a slight poke would tear it into pieces.
"You're not teasing me, are you? Ah, no, I mean, can you really let me out?" Ioroi's tone was very cautious, so cautious that he was afraid the girl was truly playing a trick on him.
"Of course it's real. Do you want to sign this contract?"
"I want to sign! I want to go find that stinky fox and get a clear explanation!"
"Good. The contract is made. Those who break their word shall suffer the punishment of eating rocks."
After saying that, Shiki stood up from the platform. Kujikanesada was slowly drawn from its sheath. The thin blade shimmered with a chilling light under the cold moonlight.
"The commotion will be quite big in a moment, so be a little prepared mentally."
Shiki leaped up, pushing off the nearby large tree. The girl's slender figure formed a graceful sight in the air, and then the katana in her hand precisely cut through the lines that looked like scribbles.
In an instant, golden light appeared, and a shockwave spread outwards. Her hair swayed back and forth under the shockwave, but this did not affect her stable landing on the ground.
Cracks began to appear on the statue, and with a loud bang, the statue directly crumbled. Seeing this, Shiki raised her hand to cover her face, as she didn't want to be hit by the Shitou.
When she lowered her hand, she saw a giant Tanuki, comparable in size to an elephant, standing before her.
"Hahaha, Ioroi, the Youkai Tanuki, has arrived!"
"You're certainly a big one, aren't you? By the way, can you make yourself smaller? This size might scare people." Shiki said, walking forward and stroking Ioroi's fluffy belly.
Hmm, the texture was very comfortable. Shiki thought Ioroi's fluffiness was very cute, like a super-sized toy plushie, but others might not think so.
"Shrink? Of course, this simple matter is something this Youkai Tanuki can do, but you have to agree to one condition first!" Ioroi's small eyes rolled around, as if he had thought of something.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to look so goofy but not be stupid at all. Tell me, as long as it's nothing too difficult to accept, it's fine."
With such a large Tanuki as a companion, Shiki was clearly in a good mood, so agreeing to another condition from him was not out of the question.
"Don't worry, don't worry, that's a simple matter for you!" As if to increase credibility, Ioroi even patted his chest.
But no matter how you looked at it, he just seemed goofy.
"You must have seen those small Tanuki statues along the way, right? Those are my clansmen. I wonder if you can unseal them all as well?"